Conventional agricultural planters are often employed to deposit planting material into soil. Many planters include a material dispensing implement that is towed behind a tractor or similar vehicle for distributing planting material, such as seed, fertilizer, pesticide, and other chemicals and materials, onto a furrowed farmland or similar planting surface. The implement may consist of multiple dispensing units that are supported by a common or shared frame that is towed by the tractor. The dispensing units are commonly referred to as row units.
The common or shared frame may include one or more hollow members for providing structural support to the agricultural planter. The hollow member is typically a metal beam that is capable of bearing and distributing static and dynamic loads of the planter. The hollow member typically has at least two ports, one attached to an individual row unit and one attached to a fan. The ports allow communication between the individual row unit and fan via a conduit or tube attached to the ports of the hollow member on a first end and to the row unit and fan on the second end. The interior of the hollow member provides a path for forced airflow between the individual row unit and the fan to enable pneumatic operation of a feature of the agricultural planter, such as a seed meter.
In agricultural planters, a seed meter regulates the rate of seed distribution in each row unit, Typically, the seed meter is pneumatically operated by a fan. The fan provides airflow to drive each individual seed meter through a complex network of conduits separate from the common or shared frame. For example, a separate conduit may connect each seed meter directly with a port of the fan. An orifice may be disposed in the port(s) to restrict the airflow through the port and to the seed meter. Additionally, each row unit may include a pneumatic seed meter that controls the seed flow rate and/or the spacing of seeds deposited in the ground. More specifically, the seed meters may utilize a vacuum pressure to attach seeds to a seed disc, which is used to control the output of seeds from the seed meter, Thus, a vacuum pressure source may be pneumatically coupled to each seed meter. Accordingly, assembling a planting implement may include attaching each row unit to the planting implement frame and routing vacuum lines to each seed meter, as well as additional assembly steps.
The operation of agricultural planters relies upon the connection of a number of conduits for allowing airflow between the row units and the fan. This connection between conduits must be sealed, as pneumatic communication depends on uninterrupted airflow between structures. Typically, a conduit is attached to a structure by welding a round pipe to a port, attaching an elbow to the pipe, and attaching a vacuum hose to the elbow. All of the connections generally rely on a friction seal.
Therefore, it is desired to provide a connector which allows a user to quickly connect a vacuum hose to a vacuum structure without gaskets or welding.